Ramirez pondering his future

ST. LOUIS - One of the bigger wild cards this off-season is the fate of third baseman Aramis Ramirez.

He can opt out of his deal or pick up an option worth $17.875 million. He has indicated he will pick up that option, and that's still the most likely case, given his poor season overall.

Ramirez was asked if the Cubs could get back to competing with the Reds and Cardinals in the National League Central.

"I don't know what type of money the ownership has," he said. "I don't know what type of money they want to spend, what kind of players they're looking for.

"Do they want to go young? Do they want to keep adding veteran players that are going to cost some money? I don't really know which way they're going to go. If you want to compete, you have to have good players.

"We'll see. It (coming back) depends what kind of young players. If we get guys like (Starlin) Castro and (Tyler) Colvin, we're going to compete. They're ready right now to play every day for any team. So if you've got good players like that, I'll be here."

And Tyler, too: Manager Lou Piniella gave an evenhanded critique of outfielder Tyler Colvin, who has 18 home runs to go along with a .250 batting average, .309 on-base percentage and 83 strikeouts.

"He doesn't walk much," Piniella said. "And then he's got to tighten up his strike zone a little bit."

Colvin has been leading off, but Piniella said sixth or seventh might be his best spot.

"Look, whether it's first, whether it's second, whether it's sixth, wherever, you've got to swing at strikes," he said. "It starts with all that. You make it very hard on yourself, whether it's Colvin, myself or you.

"It doesn't matter who the player is. It's hard enough to hit up here. When you're making the strike zone big for yourself, it makes it much more difficult.

"The young man's played well, and he should prosper from this experience. I think, from playing up here all year, it's defined the things he needs to improve on.

"No question that the young man's had a really fine first season. He's hit the ball for power. He can play all three outfield positions. He's got some speed. The ball jumps off his bat. Look, the positives far outweigh the things that he needs to improve on."

This and that: Lou Piniella said it's likely Carlos Silva will need at least 1 minor-league rehab start when he comes off the disabled list after having a minor heart procedure. - The Cubs may say something Sunday on whether rookie Casey Coleman will replace rookie Thomas Diamond in the rotation. Diamond is coming off 2 rough starts.